I finally saw the light and asked Kevin O'Keefe and the good folks at LexBlog to take over the design and backroom work on my blog. Because of the way I originally signed up with Typepad (one of many mistakes I've made in this endeavor), it was necessary to choose a new URL. In Search of Perfect Client Service is now found at www.patrickjlamb.com. That "j" between "patrick" and "lamb" is pretty damn important. If you forget it, you'll be reading about--and listening to--a musician who "combines the influences of Funk, "Old School" R&B and a flavor of Jazz to create the unique sound of Patrick Lamb."

If you have been kind enough to list me on your blogroll or subscribe to ISOPCS, I would appreciate it if you would make the change so people can click through directly to my new URL.

I feel like I should say something profound, like "see you on the other side Dr. Veckman," but its only a new URL. Click on www.patrickjlamb.com and I'll see you in second.

Ernie the Attorney announced in a March 1 post that he is starting a new law firm. Ernie is a tremendous writer, and I have learned more about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina from him than all other media combined. He tells human stories, the daily ups and downs of life after disaster. So it is no surprise that his announcement was delivered with an eloquence no one can match. Certainly not me. So, in Ernie's own words:

The day after Mardi Gras is always a day of reflection for people in New Orleans. This year, the "day after" is a special milestone: it's been six months since Katrina hit the the Gulf Coast and ravaged Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana. For those of us who lived through the turmoil --and its bizarre aftermath-- the last six months has been a continual stream of reflection. Like many people who lived in New Orleans before Katrina, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what really matters most in life (short answer: friends and family). I've also thought a lot about what other changes (ones that I control) might be worth making. Dreams that seemed not so pressing before Katrina now seem to be more urgent. I've learned a lot from Katrina, as I'm sure many people have. One thing Katrina taught us is that massive change can arrive very quickly, and have unpredictable results. If uncontrolled massive change can come into your life then why not try to bring about a little purposeful change just to balance things out? I've reflected on what changes I would make if I could

So, after months of reflection I've decided to try to practice law on my own. Of course, it will be challenging. And that's the best reason to do it. The whole city of New Orleans faces enormous challenges. But the city is in a great position to make significant improvements. And that's how I feel about practicing law. I want to make significant improvements in how I practice law, and the best way for me to do this is on my own. It is with more than a large dose of sorrow that I announce I'm leaving Gordon, Arata --the wonderful law firm where I've practiced law for the past eighteen years. But --effective today-- I'll be practicing under the rubric Svenson Law Firm LLC. I'll continue handling the same types of business disputes that I worked on before, but with less overhead and a lower billable rate. I'll strive to use non-hourly billable arrangements, and to use technology to increase productivity and effectiveness wherever possible.

More information about my new firm is available at: www.ernestsvenson.comAnd, of course, you can always keep up with me here.

Greetings from Tucson, Arizona, where it is sunny and a delightful 68 degrees. By contrast, Chicago, which I left on Friday for this brief vacation, had a high of 8 degrees on Saturday, and a low of -7 degrees. Brrrrrrr.

As someone who is constantly "searching" (in my case, for perfect client service), I thought it would be useful to search for a common theme underlying what we do. I asked my son for help.

We tried other tools as well.

Here's what we learned.

Our blawgs are about . We share our ideas with clients and others in order to stimulate thought and dialogue. The discourse that follows strengthens our ideas. With that, here are some blawg posts that reflect creativity, thought, provocation, stimulation.

While almost every post from Dennis Kennedy prompts a great deal of thought, his retrospective look at blogging "What Would I Do Differently If I Started Blogging Today?" provides lessons for bloggers of levels of experience. Taking from from the blawg world to the real one, Ernie the Attorney continues his posts on the difficult road to recovery for his beloved New Orleans with the good news that the Jazz Fest is going forward in late April and early May. Every time I read Ernie's first hand accounts of the city's recovery, I am reminded to count my blessings.

In his Legal Marketing Blog, Tom Kane weighs in this week with some additional thoughts on the very important topic of client satisfaction interviews. It is such an important topic that every entry that makes you think about it is very important. Nathan Burke asks us to consider whether our law firm web sites inspire client confidence in a terrific lawfirmblogging post. Kevin Thompson at Cyberlaw Central raises a truly profound question about detecting the tone of our emails, a question of great significance to client service. In that same vein, mediator Diane Levin, author of MediationNewsOnline, asks us to look at our emails in her post Architect or Arsonist: using email to build not burn bridges. And on a macro level, Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. asks the extraordinarily provocative question "Do You Have A Chief Strategy Officer?" In a compelling manner, he then analyzes the importance of being able to answer that question affirmatively. Bruce also weighs in with the must-read post What P & G Teaches. The story reveals how business is changing the internal value placed on managers competing with one another and focusing instead on the value of collaboration. In the eat-what-you-kill world of law firm compensation, the moral of the story should challenge convention.

David Maister, new to the blogging world but long a leader in the world of thinking, posted a reprise of something he wrote a while ago, but timeless and inspiring. The post in his Passion, People and Principles is entitled, simply, The Managing Partner's Speech. Many of us would love to work for a partner who was able to give the speech genuinely.

I thought you might want to mention Robert Scoble's interesting experiment using Technorati tags and a fictitious term "Brrreeeport". It shows how one person can impact the way search is done on the internet. It has been the top search/tag on Technorati all week long. Also you might want to include a reference and a technorati tag to brrreeeport in blawg review since it will then get picked up and get some air time online. I've gotten a number of hits to my blog just by posting the quick post that is attached to this submission.

In the food for thought, weirdness category, check out this post from f/k/a. I, for one, do not ever want to be "weird tagged."

Finally, a thought about US--the blawggers of the world. I read many, many posts to prepare this review. My reaction? Wow! There are an awful lot of smart, thoughtful people out there. My emphasis is on the smart and thoughtful, but check out this post about the "lot" part of my reaction--from Bill Gratsch at Blawg.org. Now look at the future in this Concurring Opinion post. The quality of our ideas will be a significant factor in the future of blawging.

Ideas, the spice of life. So long from sunny and warm Tucson. In a couple of hours, I'll be back in the cold Windy City.

One of the really cool things about blogging is developing an electronic relationship with someone and then finally getting to meet them. As I mentioned in a previous post, I had the great fortune of spending this past Saturday with Gerry Riskin. Today, I was able to finally meet the incomparable Michelle Golden, author of Golden Practices. We had a great time talking about our shared interest in value billing as well as a host of other marketing issues.

I have always read Michelle's posts with great interest. Her recent posts on The Profitability Problem and Profitability Through Pricing are terrific examples of her blogging contributions and reveal a depth of thinking that makes Michelle so enjoyable to engage in discussion. Our short visit at O'Hare was my great privilege.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the American Conference Institute is hosting the Cross-Industry Summit on Law Firm Marketing Leadership at the Westin New York at Times Square on May 15-17. The event is designed to provide strategies to facilitate firm wide collaboration for client development and retention efforts. The agenda is posted here.

Because ACI was crazy enough to invite me to speak, I am able to offer this great offer: If you would like to attend, you can save $200 off the registration price simply by quoting "Keycode 893L06.S" when you call 1-888-224-2480 or register on-line. Seriously, I think the program will be excellent and I hope to see many of you there.

Check out this post by Tom Collins at morepartnerincome. Tom refers to an article by Bob Burns at Brouse McDowell in Akron, Ohio. Bob is a former inhouse attorney and has both selected and been selected, so he knows of what he speaks. The article says “I believe that a business should consider the ‘Five C's’: (1) competency; (2) capacity; (3) commitment; (4) communication; and (5) cost.”

You can see the entirety of Bob's article
here. Thanks to Tom for sharing it.

With thanks to Robert Ambrogi for the heads up, I wanted to suggest you take a look at the web site of Exemplar Law Partners. The first page of the web site states an unequivocal position on hourly billing. "No hourly bill. No hourly bull. Exemplar is the first corporate law firm in the nation to exclusively adopt a fixed price model designed to align our interest with our customers while enabling businesses to better manage their legal budgets."

I don't know these folks (and I can't find out who they are on their web site), but I hope they make millions. I applaud them for a forward-thinking approach to client relations and wish them well. If they succeed, others will follow.

"When Gerry speaks, he reaches parts of your mind that you have never used before." Sue Stapely, Barrister and Solicitor, London

"I don't know Sue Stapely, but she is a master of understatement." Patrick Lamb, Attorney, Chicago

My partner Jim Rubin is a brilliant lawyer. He that rare combination of extraordinary intelligence and killer instincts, and he has used these traits, plus a willingness to outwork his opponent to build a world-class practice representing insurance and reinsurance companies in reinsurance disputes. Chambers found him to be one of the very best reinsurance litigators in the country. Jim Rubin does not suffer fools lightly, and he give compliments like he was tossing around man-hole covers. I write this, not to promote my partner (he most certainly does not need my help in that regard) but to create context for his evaluation of the retreat Gerry Riskin led yesterday for our firm. At the end, and in front of all our lawyers, Jim said "Gerry, I can't thank you enough. In the 15 years we have been doing these retreats, this was far and away the best we have ever had."

Gerry hit the ball out of the park. He drove the ball 380 yards down the middle of the fairway. He beat Kobe one on one. Pick whatever metaphor you will, Gerry was at the top of his game and he wow'd us. Its not just his content, which is exceptional. To me, two things made Gerry extraordinary. First, Gerry's level of preparation was intense. He had spoken to a number of my partners in great depth before Saturday, so he had his fingers on our pulse, our practice, our concerns. And his material was tailored to us like a fine, custom-made suit.

The other thing that made Gerry's presentation so exceptional was his manner of presentation. He presents his points in small steps that make it easy for you to walk with him, and before you realize it, you've arrived comfortably at precisely the destination Gerry planned for you to be, and you marvel at how comfortable the trip turned out to be. If he had simply announced that people needed to be at a certain place, few would have made the complete trip and it would have been nowhere near as engaging a journey.

For us, the issue we focused on were marketing, both the whys and the hows. But I can't imagine a topic on which Gerry would not excel.

On a personal note, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Gerry and at the Marketing Partner Forum and even more time yesterday after our retreat. A great retreat leader, teacher, etc., he is even a better person. Just an outstanding guy with a great sense of humor. As Humphrey Bogart said to Claude Rains at the end of Casablanca, "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship." It will be my great fortune if it is so.